New horse with a lot of issues..."Sigh"

Does he only do this in the ring?? Or is it on trails too?  (thinking ring sour possibly)
 
Sounds like Free was Free for a reason here.

He does this both in the arena and out on trails.

His previous owner is a horse trainer with her own facility about 30 minutes from my barn. She was given  Kid (my horse) and planned on using him as a lesson horse. However she was diagnosed with Lukemia and never got around to doing anything with him. I don't even think she ever rode him.  He had been sitting at my barn for months not getting anymore than some food thrown at him twice a day, by his previous owner before her. They were looking for someone to give him love and attention and that's where I came in, after two months she gave him to me for $1.00.

The owner before her said she use to ride him all the time on trails and he did just fine. Said every once in awhile he would be a booger but what horse isn't?
The owner before that had inherited him from a family member that died and she knew nothing about horses, fed him one flake of hay a day, and that's about all she ever did with him. She also didn't know anything about his background or training.

So no one really know's his background or training, if he was used for western, english, or what. He's registered (or so I was told) and I have tried to look up his registered name but havent' had much luck...

So anyway, I think he's just sour with being ridden in general! It doesn't matter where we are.

This is one of those things that I tell rescue horse owners.  Don't treat them any different just because you do or don't know their background.  Start from the ground just like he was a colt getting ready to wear the saddle for the first time.  Start with the general groundwork and get those feet moving.  Most horses that have forward motion problems undersaddle have them on the ground as well.  Ask him to lounge and he will most likly throw a tantrum there too.  When I mean lounge, I don't mean just let him trot circles, really make him hustle at an extended trot and change directions offten with hindquarter yields and forequarter yeilds.  You'll find out really quickly just how deep his problems go or if once he sees you as a good leader gives in and says OK I'm with you.
 
When folks bring me a horse that they say theyve been riding and want a tune up, I don't just hop on and get started either.  I spend about 3 days treating them just like a colt, no matter the age.  I get them soft in the halter both at a standstill and on-line.  Would't beleive the horses that are soft at the standstill but try and pull me across the arena when asked to stay soft and move.  LOL  It really lets me see if their are any holes in the foundation of the horse and what problems I need to address prior to getting on. 
 
Check out videos by Clinton Anderson, Stacy westfall and chris cox as they have very good groundwork excersises that help both horse and handler.  Good luck and stay safe!
 
 

TRAINER: Thank you so much for the advice! I lounge him almost daily. Probably not to the extent that you would. I should move it up a bit I guess...Here is another one of his things...He will not lounge on a lounge line. He free lounges great in the round pen, but if you hook a line to him he rears and bolts....Any advice?

Yeah that was what I figured.  When you free lounge him its his idea to move forward because your not directly conected to him which means if he wants to lope he can, if he wants to trot he can.   Most horses with this problem will also change directions by turning into the fence or just stoping parallel with the fence.  He should stop facing you straight on and not come in until you let him.
 
He has learned to rear somewhere to get out of working.  He has found out that if he does it the pressure will go away.  Get ahold of a good rope halter, one that is fairly stiff, like Clinton anderson or Craig camerons, a good lead rope with a lot of feel something not over 14 and not under 12.  You want the extra line to make sure he is safly away from you and that you still have enough at the end should you need to use it.  Another thing is you might look into a training stick.  With a horse his size it helps to be able to touch them from a distance just to get the message across.  Its not somehting that you charge in with but if you need to wack him, wack him.  Stay at the jaw and neck though, no face unless he should bite or come at you.
 
When you lounge him on line I would recomend using a 50 to 60 ft round pen.  This will limit his ability to pull you around and will also bring his mind in too.  Without seeing him I can't tell you if he will fuss and fight for a few minutes and then realize you mean what you say and are now leader or if he will test you for the whole session.  Some horses take longer than others and some just put up a tough front.
 
When you put him on-line I would ignore the rearing and backing, just keep the pressure steady and the direction clear.  Don't think about what he has done before just walk out there with the mind set that you are going to teach him how to lounge just like you would a young horse.  If he gets aggressive about it then I would recomend getting some help but I'm guessing that it is just a front to get what he wants.  When he does move forward around you let him choose the speed at first.  He will most likely charge out like he is off to the races and thats fine.  Its that moment when he realizes that he is being tested for leadership just like in the herd.  Let him make a circle or two and then stop him facing you, give him a rub on the head and do it again, and again, and again, until he is moving off quietly and respectfully.  If you have time teach him how to go the other direction.  Don't make the mistake of thinking just because you worked for an hour on getting him to move to the left that he will automaticly move to the right because different side, different horse.  If it took an hour on the other side look for it to take about the same on that side or just a bit shorter.  When your done with the lesson tie him up safly for a couple of hours and let it all soak in.  you will be amazed when you go out the next day to do it how much shorter time it will take to get the same results.
 
Thats why I recomended those trainers video's.   They show you how to go about it step by step and there could be some bit of information in there that you might have been overlooking or didn't realize you were doing.  Good luck and stay safe.  If there is anything I can help with just give me a holler.

He's a pretty thing!  I just love you, trainer! I can do lots of that stuff with Dani!

[quote=hunterseat]

He's a pretty thing!  I just love you, trainer! I can do lots of that stuff with Dani!


Thank you! He is a very handsome horse!

TRAINER: Great advice thank you! Luckily he is trained pretty well to free lounge. He listens to voice commands and will walk, trot, and lope when asked. He will also stop facing me and not come in until asked. However sometimes he does turn into the fence and change directions without being asked.  After talking to you and someone at my barn I have decided (like you said) to start him over, treat him like a colt. Today I bited him up and lounged him and he did pretty well. fought it for a few min's but eventually relaxed.  I really do need to work on lounging him on a line though. I wasn't really sure where to start but your advice helps greatly.

Yes, your horse sounds like he has gotten away with whatever he wanted. You have a big job ahead of you. After you get him settled online, maybe you should try driving. I have found that if I can drive my horses with lines, I can ride them. It is safe to be on the ground but you can still tell him what to do through the reins. It's a great way to test his willingness before riding again. 

Im going to get FLOGGED for this here. But a horse is a horse. If he is more then you can handle its not worth getting hurt over. Take your losses and sell/give away. Get something you can handle.
matt

[quote=hoyt_bowhunting]

Im going to get FLOGGED for this here. But a horse is a horse. If he is more then you can handle its not worth getting hurt over. Take your losses and sell/give away. Get something you can handle.
matt


If the gal at her barn is experienced with starting colts then she would be fine to "start" /"re-start" him herself under the experienced gal's guidance and whenever she runs into ruts she can always turn to some one. First horse I got was a weanling filly when she hit 2 she was the spawn or satan, were talking cowkicking, wouldn't let me touch her, couldn't lead her because she'd bolt and try to kick me, and I got help, and now she's the oldest best 3 year old you'd ever meet, she'll be 4 next month and she's dead broke, I have put people who never even been on a horse's back lessons and free rides, and she babysits them, you'd think she was 3 times her age. Also you get what you tolerate.

I may be wrong, but it doesn't sound like you have much experience with horses.  If that is the case, I would suggest getting a good trainer to work with the horse and help you with him. 

You may have already taken care of this but I had the same problem with my new horse. I ended up tightening the halter, adding a noseband and keeping it tight, and curb chain. Then when he starts his antics I do a quick snap on the reins and it seems to get his attention. Of course, now I have to work on a lot of other problems -- won't go anywhere unless another horse is along, likes to sprint forward when I haven't asked for it....yada yada yada...

Good luck with your 16h baby.

Could be he's trained, and spoiled, or just has your number.
 
I have a free horse, and she's wonderful. My last free horse, not so much, lol.
 
Backing up...rule out mouth pain before you go anywhere. Make sure the bit isn't too severe, that it doesn't have rough spots on it (I'm speaking from experience here) and check to make sure there aren't tooth issues (check for dropping feed).
 
Once all that's taken care of, my mare likes to play that game a little. If she wants to go somewhere you don't, she'll start backing up.
 
With her, I've found that if I turn her to face the direction she thinks she wants to go, then start backing her up and back her up until she's tired of it, then turn her and head out, she seems to forget what it was she was doing. I think she gets turned around and thinks we're going in the direction she wanted to go. I don't know, but it's a fairly low-key way to discourage her from backing up. She gets tired of it fairly pronto.
 
I don't ever get in her mouth with it, though, there's no need. She wants to go backwards, so we go backwards. And backwards, and backwards some more. She forgets she wanted to do that.